


Distant Romance

by HiddenSamurai (Hellasam)



Category: The Half of It (2020)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:27:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24030565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hellasam/pseuds/HiddenSamurai
Summary: It was Ellie's day off from work when she gets an idea. She writes a letter.
Relationships: Ellie Chu/Aster Flores
Comments: 28
Kudos: 270





	Distant Romance

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies in advanced. I'm not as eloquent with words as Ellie or Aster are, but I did try my best to write something at least remotely coherant.
> 
> I've only ever wrote a fic once prior to this and that was a couple of years ago. An idea randomly struck my head yesterday and I couldn't help myself but write it before the idea left my head. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> I wrote this entire thing while listening to Distant Romance by Sheryl Ann Padre on repeat.

“This is a distant romance... Maybe someday I could be the one girl in your dreams.”

It was currently 10:15am on a Wednesday. Today was her day off from work. Ellie was sitting at the kitchen nook, sipping on a mug full of freshly brewed coffee. She looked around the room and her eyes landed on gold glimmering back at her. She sits still and stares at it for a few minutes. She looks out the window to her side, sees all the Spring flowers that had bloomed in the backyard and it brought her to a memory in time, long ago. That was when an interesting idea struck her. She smiled, stood up from her seat, walked over to a drawer in the kitchen where they usually hid the stationary, grabbed a notepad and a pen then headed back to her seat. She took a deep breath and began to write. _Guess I’m really doing this_ , she thought.

5/1/2030

_Dear Aster Flores,  
_

_I’m in love with you._

_I was 13 when I first saw you. Your family had just moved into town. People were buzzing around, talking about the new pastor that had moved into Squahamish with his family. To be honest, I didn’t really pay it any mind when you all first moved in, no offense. I remember it was a Thursday afternoon in the Summertime when I passed by the church and saw the “Accompanist Needed” sign in the window. I stopped my bike and stared at it for a good five minutes, contemplating whether or not I should go in. I decided not to and continued on my way home. That night though, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I was never a religious person, but there was just something about it that was encouraging me to go. I couldn’t really put my finger on it, but it was guiding me there, like some sort of magnetic pull. The next morning, I made my way to the church bright and early. Your father welcomed me in the second I walked through the door and I told him I wanted to apply to be the church’s new accompanist. He looked surprised that a 13 year old girl wanted to be there during her free time. Once he agreed, I remember him going to the back office to retrieve a business card so I could have my dad call him to confirm that I was okay to be in church on Sundays. When he left for a brief moment, I looked around and noticed you sitting in the front with your face buried in a book. I had never really known another kid my age that read books for fun, until I saw you. At the time, I was too shy to say hi. Plus, you looked really immersed in what you were reading so I didn’t want to bother you. I didn’t know your name, but I hoped that I would get to know it soon enough._

_I was 15 when I found out you started dating Trig Carson. Not going to say I was surprised about that, but it did make me a little sad. He was the guy most of the girls at SHS fawned over and you were the beautiful girl everyone fell for. On paper, you two were the perfect couple. But anytime I looked your way, it never really seemed like it was a match made in heaven. He was too self-absorbed and you definitely deserved better. Even at 15, I think you should’ve been treated and worshipped like the goddess you truly were._

_I was 17 when we first kissed. I figured that with me leaving for Grinnell the next day and you going to art school, what better time to make one bold stroke of my own. So, I kissed you. And surprisingly, you kissed me right back. Not bad for my first kiss, huh? I remember I somehow found the strength to put together a coherent sentence after that. I told you I’d see you in a couple of years and ran. I ran like the wind. Still, didn’t change the fact that you were running through my mind more times than not in years to come._

_I was 23 when I ran into you again. Or well… when you accidentally ran into me, I should say. It was a cold afternoon in Seattle. I had just finished work when I needed a caffeine boost to get through the rest of my day. I remember holding the door open for a few people as they were walking out of the cafe. Right as I was about to walk in, a body collided with me. All I felt was scorching hot liquid all over my white button up shirt and dress pants. I remember hearing someone mutter a curse under their breath. I looked up and saw you there, rushing to get as many napkins as you could from the dispenser. You hadn’t noticed me yet while you were profusely apologizing. I don’t remember if I was standing there in shock because of the possible 3rd degree burns or because somehow the universe brought you into my life once again. I’m pretty sure it was both._

_I’m 27 now and I’m very much still in love with you._

_All my love,  
_ _Ellie Chu  
  
_

Ellie re-reads the letter one last time, folds it carefully, places it in an envelope and seals it. She attaches 2 stamps in the top right hand corner, then delicately writes out an address on the front of the letter.

 **Aster Flores  
** **3679 Estrella Avenue  
** **Seattle, WA 98112**

 _Can’t believe I’m actually going to send this,_ she thought to herself.

On a new piece of notepad paper, she writes,

“Went to get groceries! See you in a few hours!

\- Ellie”

  
Ellie makes sure to drop off the letter at the post office before making her way to the grocery store. With the sun shining down on her and a smile plastered on her face, she believes today’s going to be a good day.  
  


\----------------------------------------------------  
  


A few days pass. Ellie finished her office work for the day and was able to head home earlier than usual. She stops by her favorite fast food spot to pick up a couple of burgers, fries, and milkshakes then makes her way home. She parks her car in the driveway, rushes to grab all her things so she can get inside and eat. She opens the door, hangs up her coat, and puts her work bag down by the door. She was about to grab the bag of food and milkshakes and head to the kitchen when she heard footsteps and little paws making their way towards her. She turns around.

“Seriously Ellie?” Ellie sees a letter and an envelope being waved around, amusement on the other’s face. “You wrote me a letter AND mailed it? I get that you’re trying to be cute and all, but you could’ve just left it on the counter or on my bedside table, Babe.”

Ellie bends down to pet their Yorkie. “Hi Riley! Hey girl! Ooh, I missed you too!” She picks up Riley and stands up to speak with the other woman. “Hey, live a little. I don’t know. I thought it would be adorable. Plus, I didn’t want to disturb you since you’ve been super busy with the gallery. I thought it would be a nice change. You know, kind of like old times,” Ellie says.

“Like old times. Way to make us sound old, you granny. But yes, it was super sweet. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Thank you.” She punctuates with a kiss. Aster makes a disgusted, albeit cute face before saying something. “You really had to mention Trig in there though?”

Ellie can’t help but laugh. “Think of it this way. He was just a minor detail in a major plot.” She winks to put emphasis on what she said.

Aster rolls her eyes. “Mhmm, sure. Well, I’ve got something for you.” She turns around and grabs a letter then hands it to Ellie in exchange for Riley. "Come here, Bubby."

The front of the letter simply has "Ellie" written on it in the handwriting that she loves so much. “Can I open it? As in, right now?” she asks, looking at Aster.

“Yeah, I was actually hoping you’d read it once I handed it to you.” Aster chuckles then kisses Ellie’s cheek. “Go on.”

“Okay.” She opens the letter and starts reading it.

5/4/2030

_Dear Ellie Chu,_

_I, too, am also in love with you._

_I was 14 when I found out I wasn’t the only ethnically different person in Squahamish. Coming from Sacramento, it wasn’t unusual to see many people from different ethnic backgrounds. Moving to a small town like Squahamish was a bit of a culture shock. Then one Sunday, I saw you in church, making your way upstairs to play the piano. Suddenly, I felt like I wasn’t so alone in a town that was so used to everyone being one in the same._

_I was 16 when I developed a small crush on you. Well, at the time, I didn’t know that’s what it was. All I knew was that you were intriguing. Everyone in our class knew who you were, even when you kept your head down most times. I’m sure there was help because of your little side hustle, though. Twenty dollar essays. One day when our classmates were slyly passing around the papers you wrote them, one came my way. It was “Michelle Smith’s” essay for 5th period English. I stopped and read it before handing it over to her. It was such a well written essay on Catcher in the Rye, it made me want to work on how to make my own papers sound as eloquent. I still think you should’ve charged higher than what those essays were worth. Your way with words is unmatched._

_I was 18 when we first kissed. It was the first kiss that ever left me breathless and speechless like that. I was smiling the entire day after you kissed me. I couldn’t believe a kiss could be so Earth-shattering that I could barely keep it and you off my mind. You definitely surprised me in more ways than one back then._

_I was 23 when I accidentally spilled hot coffee all over you. Mentally, on that particular day, my headspace was a jumbled mess. I had an art piece deadline coming up for a client that I was stressing over and I wasn’t paying much attention to my surroundings. By some sort of fate, you were the one I ran into. I couldn’t believe I had spilled a whole piping hot cup of coffee on someone, let alone that it was you on the receiving end of it. I’m still thankful that the owners of that little cafe were such sweethearts and offered to give the both of us coffee on the house. I remember sitting in that cafe, losing track of time just talking to you. It was a pleasant change of pace, especially with all the chaos that was happening in my life at the time. I remember not wanting to get out of that cafe chair because I didn’t want to stop talking to you. But enough time passed and we both remembered we had other things we needed to get done before the day ended. I was already planning on asking you for your number before we parted ways, but you beat me to it. You still surprise me with your bold strokes, El. After the cafe, I went back to my studio and finished a piece that you helped inspire. You became my favorite muse.  
_ _(Also, I’m still sorry for spilling hot coffee on you, Babe. Forgive me?)_

_I was 25 when I realized I wanted forever with you. We’d been dating for two years and it was everything I could’ve wanted in a relationship. You were everything I could’ve wanted. You showed me that with time and patience, everything would start to fall into place eventually. It took us a while, but we got there. I got there. If only 18 year old me could see us now. I think she’d be ecstatic with how far we’ve come. She also might’ve been a little over-the-moon if she found out you were the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with._

_I’m 28 now and I’m pretty sure I’ll always be in love with you._

_Forever Yours,  
_ _Aster Flores-Chu_

  
Ellie looks up at her wife with the biggest smile on her face. “I really fucking love you.”

Aster smiles back at her. “Feeling’s mutual, Babe. I love you.” She gives her a long, sweet kiss. She whispers against her wife’s lips and smiles, “You don’t know the half of it.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you got this far, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> A few fun notes:  
> \- I vaguely alluded to Ellie’s wedding ring in the first paragraph. Idk if anyone’s caught it.  
> \- I chose the date 5/1 since that was when the movie released.  
> \- Their street address is a play on Aster’s name. Estrella means star in Spanish.  
> \- Burgers, fries, and milkshakes since Paul said that’s what a date consists of lol  
> \- If you’re wondering why they have different ages, it’s because I made Aster older than Ellie by a few months. I’m not really sure who’s older in the movie so I flipped a coin and picked one lol  
> \- I originally didn’t write a puppy in there, but I had the idea that it would be so fucking cute if they did have one and added it in last second.  
> \- I didn’t write it in, but they get married at 26 and are coming up on 2 years of marriage.  
> \- I wasn’t sure if I was going to name this Distant Romance even though the song was an inspiration for it. I decided to keep it since I thought about it and it made more sense. What they had WAS a distant romance. Distant in the the sense that it was years apart before they were able to finally be together.


End file.
